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Word on the Street — March 8th thru March 12th

March 14th, 2010 Mel White COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

(With Kevin in Las Vegas at EXHIBITOR, Jim Shelman, GM of Exhibits NW Portland, has assumed the “Word on the Street” duties this week.)

Now That You’ve Decided to Rent Your Trade Show Exhibit . . .

There are lots of articles about the benefits of renting vs. buying an exhibit, including this one on Classic’s website. But, I don’t recall ever reading an article that discussed the do’s and don’ts once you have decided to rent. After 20 years of managing exhibit rentals for clients, including the past five managing the Rental Program for Classic Exhibits, I’ve learned that deciding to rent is the easy part. The hard part comes after the rental decision has been made. With all humility, please allow me to share these tips from someone who has experienced his fair share of rental bruises over the years.

Think Ahead about Future Shows
You’ve decided to rent your exhibit. Now take it a step further by planning your trade show schedule over the next two to three years. Developing a long-term plan could save you thousands of dollars by committing to a multiple-show rental contract. Most companies offer a substantial discount if you agree to multiple rentals up front, even for various size exhibits and different designs.

Customization
Rental exhibits have come a long way. Work with a company that’s willing to offer customization so you can achieve your specific exhibit marketing goals. Everyone should be wondering, “Is it a rental or not?” There are a number of ways to achieve a custom look. It can be achieved with graphic applications and/or materials such as infill panels for conference rooms and workstations. Sometimes all it takes is a small accent piece with your corporate colors to make a big difference in the overall design. Just because you’re renting doesn’t mean you don’t want to jazz it up a bit and give it your own personal touch. It should have a similar look and feel to an exhibit you would purchase but with the added benefit that you can change things out from show to show.

rental_jimGraphics
Be sure you have all of the specs you need for your graphics. There are many graphic applications. Working with an exhibit professional will ensure that you choose the method that works best for your rental exhibit. And if you choose to sign a multiple show contract, you’ll want to design your graphics with future shows and exhibit designs in mind. There are usually graphic components that can be re-used, so keep that in mind as you work through each design concept.

Monitors
If you’re planning to use monitors, check that the mounts can be incorporated into the design. In other words don’t waste money on monitor stands if you can use the existing structure. A good rental exhibit company will offer a variety of solutions for monitors and wire management.

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Word on the Street — February 1st thru February 5th

February 6th, 2010 Mel White 3 COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

The Best “Pre-Show Marketing” I Have Ever Seen

After 15 years in the trade show industry, I don’t consider myself an expert, but I am a pretty good judge of certain things — like pre-show marketing.

In late December and early January, I witnessed one of the very best ever. It was created and implemented by Griffin Technology, an aftermarket accessory provider for iPods, iPhones, Blackberrys, and the upcoming iPad. And it was implemented specifically to generate buzz and traffic for their booth at CES 2010.

The Griffin Team clearly put a lot of thought and effort into making this happen, including tapping into two of the most prevalent mediums in our society today: Social Media and Reality Television.

Griffin Pre-show Marketing

Griffin Pre-show Marketing

The Griffin team created the website www.cesbound.com. It was a Griffin Technology meets The Real World experiment. Griffin employees would travel from their home office in Nashville, Tennessee to Las Vegas for CES. All the while, they would document their road trip via social media sites like Twitter.

To start, they acquired a beat-up old VW Bus and started “tweeting” and posting YouTube videos as they restored the van to look like a Griffin marketing piece on wheels. Then, they totally outfitted the van with Griffin products so they could “stay connected” on their journey. Product placement in action!

Equipped with a loyal following on Twitter and YouTube, they set out to drive from Tennessee to Vegas for CES minus all the gratuitous interpersonal crap you expect from reality television shows. Much to the contrary. It was a small group of employees on an adventure that would end up creating an unbelievable buzz at CES 2010.

I will not spoil the whole story, because you really need to go back and follow it for yourself. Whether it was the highlights from national monuments like the Alamo or the Grand Canyon, or simple stuff like stopping for some chow at Popeye’s along the way, or the Mexican Wresting Mask that made several appearances, CES attendees followed them religiously, always checking to see the latest video, photo, or blog posts.

Griffin Technology CES 2010

Griffin Technology CES 2010

All of this concluded with them driving the VW Bus onto the show floor  and placing it in their booth along side their two-story exhibit. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Classic Exhibits Rentals provided them with their exhibit. The project came to us from Carol Larimore and the team from Tradeshow Stop in Nashville. The final exhibit was spectacular! Evidence of the thought and care put into the project by Carol and her team. See the photos in P5D by clicking on the photo.

In the end, when CES 2010 opened the first day, Griffin was swamped with people who had been following them along the way. These were people who had been entertained not only by the personalities of the employees that embarked on the trip, but also by the product used during the trip.

The show was an enormous success for Griffin. And in the end, those of us who have ever taken a road trip of any length know that the overall expense must have been a fraction of what it would have been through traditional advertising and pre-show marketing.

It was a true example of thinking way outside the box.

Let me know what you think. What are some truly “unique” pre-show marketing plans you have seen implemented. Both good and bad.

Please share your comments via the blog comment section and have a safe and restful weekend!

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Word on the Street — December 28th thru January 1st

January 3rd, 2010 Mel White 5 COMMENTS
Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Ten Reasons I’m Glad It’s 2010

Happy New Year! I hope you had a joyous and safe celebration with your family and friends.

I don’t know about you, but I am not a big one for New Year’s Resolutions. Nothing against those of you who do make resolutions, but mine are usually broken by January 4.  

I am, however, very hopeful and excited as we step into 2010.

10 Reasons:

#1 – As mentioned by several people at the EDPA Conference in December, 2009 sucked! It can go nowhere but up from here. 🙂

#2 – As an industry, we seem more united than ever. That might sound strange to some, but with the advent of social media sites like LinkedIn, people seem to have an avenue to express concerns, issues, and successes more readily. And they are using it! If you follow the groups and discussions, you see that for the most part we all have the same goals to improve our industry. Even some of the most traditionally “taboo” topics are being discussed. Keep it up. Whether we agree or not is not really important . . . rather, what’s important is keeping the issues out in the open for discussion, learning, and change.

#3 – As a company, Classic Exhibits Inc. has deepened its relationships with customers throughout the tough times of 2009. Sometimes, when the going gets tough it causes strains on relationships. Last year, it proved to bond us together even tighter. When you are all in the same boat together, you might as well join together and find creative ways to trudge through it, making sure we all survive!

#4 – Product Development. Ours actually grew in 2009 and is poised and ready for 2010. We created several new products in 2009 — some that were entirely new, such as Sacagawea, as well as a bevy of new kits within our existing product lines such as Magellan Miracle and Magellan MOR.

#5 – New Products. As you will soon see, we are launching a new line in early 2010 (Segue). Stay tuned as we lauch this product in stages.

#6 – Classic’s Production Team. Many of you have heard me brag about our Production staff. They are incredible. Most of our core production employees celebrated their 10th year with Classic this past year. Ten Years! While I think that says a lot about Classic as company, more importantly, it gives me great comfort knowing that day in and day out that we have a crew of professional, dedicated, and quality-driven individuals producing our customer’s exhibits.

#7 – Shared Knowledge. We focused all year on collecting and collating important details of exhibits sold in the past as well as all exhibits sold in 2009. In return, if you look at Exhibit Design Search, you will see the benefits. Many of the kits shown now include links to the Set-ups, Graphic Dimensions, Set-up Videos, Photos, and much much more!

#8 – Rentals, Rentals, Rentals! Jim Shelman and his team continue to do an amazing job creating unique rental options that provide something for everyone and for every budget!

#9 – ClassicMODUL Connecticut Location. With a year under our belt (and a few bumps and bruises along the way), we are poised to service all your East Coast raw metal needs. Thanks to Tom Jones and his team for their continued dedication to refining this operation.

#10 – Customer Service and Project Management. Tim Hanley and our talented project managers spent their free time throughout 2009 focused on the “Shared Knowledge” theme. They worked on creating databases of CAD drawings, set-up instructions, and other details that will allow us to meet your day-to-day needs more efficiently.

In about two weeks I will release my annual State of the Company letter. It will highlight our plans and goals for 2010, reflect back on the lessons learned from 2009, and chart our plan of attack for 2010 from all levels — Production, Design, Customer Service, Marketing, and Sales.

What are you thoughts as we move into 2010? I would appreciate hearing your insights.

Have a safe and restful weekend!

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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Word on the Street — June 8th thru June 12th

June 12th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Word on the Street

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

If you are like me, you find yourself talking to your exhibit industry peers to see “what’s up” in their world and in our industry. So, at the recommendation of others, I am going to write about what I am hearing each week and post it every Friday by noon. I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Week of June 8th thru June 12th

Budgets Looking Up Heading into 2010! 

That was the title of an article an industry friend sent my direction on Monday, and it really set the tone for the week.

In our business, we have seen a big spike in activity in design and quote requests so I thought i would make some calls and see if this was true for others. I spoke to some traditional Portable/Modular/Hybrid Distributors, Custom Houses, and a few suppliers of carpeting, lighting, and transportation services.

Their response confirmed our trend. With the exception of two companies, which said they are still hearing crickets rather than phones ringing, everyone else said that business has begun to pickup over the past two weeks. In addition, the projects seem real and have some meat. Not just “pie in the sky” speculative projects.

Everyone, myself included, is careful to mention that there has NOT been a comparable spike in sales, just in design and quoting. Which tells me that some money is being freed up for later summer and fall shows. The sales they are seeing right now are for refreshed graphics for existing exhibits and/or alternative “value” based exhibit options. At Classic, for example, we just introduced the Sacagawea Hybrid Series which has seen a lot of activity.

The other really consistent fact that all companies I spoke to confirmed was that their rental business is up anywhere from 25-50% over last year. Stands to reason right?!?!

They all agreed that May, June, and July will be spent getting back to basics. Making calls to as many people as possible. Keeping your company’s name out in the forefront is paramount during uncertain economic times like these. And for those who survive . . . the last thing you want to struggle with down the road is name recognition.

As I muddle and learn my way through this weekly blog thing, I encourage you to send me topics or questions that you would like feedback on. I would be happy to ask around as I make my calls each day and/or as I visit customers.

Talk to you all soon

Be Well

Kevin Carty
http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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The Tradeshow Exhibit Rental Business is Booming

April 29th, 2009 Mel White COMMENTS
Trade Show Rentals from Classic

Trade Show Rentals from Classic Distributors

The exhibit rental business is booming. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. Exhibitors, both large and small, are looking for cost-effective ways to maintain their exhibit marketing on tight budgets. Renting a display makes sense for a variety of reasons, including cost, flexibility, storage and handling. If you are weighing the choice between buying or renting, see 8 Reasons to Rent Your Exhibit (below) or the full article on www.all-about-trade-show-exhibits.com.

Too often, exhibitors view renting as a marketing or design compromise. Larger rental displays, especially those from show management, are often battered, dated, and UGLY. They scream, “Hi, I couldn’t afford a new display so I rented this #!@% display from the show.” Renting 10′ x 10′ exhibits hasn’t been much better. The choices have been a pop up display, a different pop up display, or a fabric folding panel system. These are all utilitarian choices, and with the right graphics can be very effective, but they are never going to win you a “Best of Show” award.

Thankfully, rental designs have come a long, long way, especially if you are considering renting from a Classic Exhibits distributor. Take a moment and review the inline and island rental options in the Classic Gallery. You’ll notice some standard designs, such as pop ups, panel displays, and truss systems, but the vast majority fall under the heading of hybrid designs. Hybrid designs, such as Visionary Designs, are precisely what their name implies — hybrids. They rely on the strengths of multiple systems and combine them into a unique solution. This makes the final designs custom looking, but with much greater flexibility than a custom exhibit. Hybrids are impressive and unmistakable, not only for their soaring aluminum extrusion structure but also for their large format graphics.

The following are examples from the Rental Gallery:

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